A man who was bravely disarmed by a temporary shop worker after producing an imitation firearm during an attempted robbery in Spalding Sheep Market was jailed for 45 months on Monday.
Vaidotas Mecislauskas (49), of Spalding Common, walked into the Nasza Biendronka supermarket shortly before 1.30pm on September 29 and demanded cigarettes and money from Sedad Amin who was stacking shelves.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Mecislauskas said he had a gun with him.
Catherine Picardo, prosecuting, said Mr Amin doubted the threat but Mecislauskas pointed to his waistband where he moved the imitation weapon up and down.
Mecislauskas then told the shocked store worker “I’m going to kill you,” and repeated a number of other threats.
The court heard Mecislauskas then produced the imitation weapon, but the shop worker bravely grabbed it by the barrel and a struggle ensued which spilled out into the street.
Shop workers and school children witnessed parts of the incident, with Mr Amin eventually managing to wrestle the imitation handgun from Mecislauskas before the police arrived.
Mecislauskas made no comment during police interview. Firearms experts examined the black imitation weapon and described it as a “top venting blanks handgun.”
The court heard Mr Amin suffered a crack to his mobile phone during the struggle and a scratch to his hand.
Mr Amin had moved to the UK from Syria when he was a child and had never seen a gun before. He had only been working in the Spalding shop for two weeks on a trial.
Mecislauskas, who listened to the hearing via a Lithuanian interpreter, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted robbery and criminal damage.
The court heard Mecislauskas had no previous convictions in his native Lithuania.
Neil Sands, mitigating, told the court Mecislauskas now faces deportation after moving to the UK with his wife in 2006 and having four children.
Mr Sands added: “He normally works, but he is at a complete loss to why he did this. There is no reason.
“He knows he is going to prison.”
Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Mecislauskas: “The phlagmatic Mr Amin doubted you had a gun. You pulled back your waistband and showed him a very realistic weapon.”
The Judge added: “At this stage he was very scared. He told you he couldn’t give you anything expensive, only a bottle of water, because he wasn’t the boss.”
Judge Sjolin told Mecislauskas he repeated his threats to kill Mr Amin who bravely wrestled the gun from him.
“You carried out this robbery in a busy market town,” Judge Sjolin added.
“It was only an attempted robbery because of Mr Amin’s remarkable bravery.”
After passing sentence Judge Sjolin Knight said she would be commending Mr Amin and awarding him £350 from public funds for his actions.
